Tag Archives: Trap

A well executed Zone Defence can help teams with elements such as Doubling or Trapping (Photo Source: jmrosenfeld)

A Zone Defence is just one of a large array of options that a coach has during a game. If you do not have an “array of options” then you probably need to think about how you will manage a wider range of situations defensively. A Zone Defence, like all defences has strengths and weaknesses. Depending on the type of defence implemented there will be certain tactical situations in which you will use this strategy to put opponents at a disadvantage. No matter the formation or tactics, there are some times though during a game when a “Zone” can be a good option to change to.

Opposition is on a Scoring Run

If an opposition is continuing to pull away from your team during a game then a switch in the defensive strategy might be the catalyst for something to happen. Of course, calling a time out and refocusing the team around the current strategy is an option as well, but sometimes a change can break the rhythm of the opposition.

Most teams utilise a man-to-man defence as the primary weapon and Zone Defence works best as a rotation defence. By using a Zone Defence sparingly, an opposition will struggle with the free form of a man-to-man defence and then the structure of a Zone Defence. Exposing an opposition in this way also creates the option for a coach to extend the use of the Zone Defence longer if the impacts to offensive output are ongoing.

Extending into the Full Court

A Zone Defence in the quarter court works very well when paired with a similarly structured full court defence such as a zone press. If a team is looking to push their opponents further up the floor then the use of a Zone Defence might be the answer. Being able to collapse back into a familiar structure can sometimes be a struggle for teams when rotating out of the full court back to the half court when using a man-to-man defence. Having a set structure like a Zone Defence often helps with this transition.

Trapping in the Half Court

Trapping can often be a challenging scenario especially in a man-to-man defence. Players become confused on where they should be or what they could be doing. Providing the structure of a Zone Defence can overcome this confusion as players have more clearly defined roles and locations to fill within the defence. These roles are not only relevant to a position on the court, but the other players on their team as well. This makes it easy for players to be able to recognise the play as it is unfolding in front of them.

Players in Foul Trouble

One of the key features of most Zone Defences is that they work on the principle of having two or three lines of defence between the ball and the basket. This means that there are one or two lines of help defence to assist the player match-up against the ball handler at any one time. For this reason, a player who is experiencing some difficulty with foul trouble can be “hidden” to some degree within a Zone by being placed off the ball and in one of the help defence positions.

Slowing the Tempo of the Game

A Zone Defence can be used to also slow the tempo of a game. This however is based upon the assumption that the opposition is having trouble scoring against the Zone Defence or that they have not seen it regularly enough to be comfortable with playing structured offense against it. Switching to a Zone Defence can have the effect of making the opposition pull up and try to do something special against the defence. In some cases, coaches will even call a time out to plan what course of action to take.

The situations described above will not be the only exclusive element that leads to success when using a Zone Defence. The defence itself still needs to be effectively implemented on the floor for the play to be carried out. The more effective a Zone Defence is, the more it can be used regularly and with greater confidence of it standing the offensive onslaught of an opposition. This confidence will be highly valuable in focusing the team’s effort and energy into the defence.

The 1 v 2 HC Trapping Drill is a simple activity for defensive players who are learning how to form a trap. Providing quick fire opportunities for players to practice advanced skills like trapping can be very difficult, as many drills seem to be played out in the full court. This is not ideal for teaching as the repetitions are slowed and it is hard to provide a decent amount of repetitions for any one player. The 1 v 2 HC Trapping Drill overcomes these issues and allows a high rate of practice for a team.

One of the great aspects about the 1 v 2 HC Trapping Drill is that it starts in the half court and allows players to practice the tactic of trapping in short sharp bursts. Players should be pushed within the drill to ideally be working at a game pace once they start to understand the positioning and what they are responsible for as defenders. Coaches should look to take the breaks within player’s repetitions to provide feedback and limit stoppages to the drill.

The 1 v 2 HC Trapping Drill starts with three lines of players on each side of the court. One side performs the activity while the other waits. This is to avoid any collisions between the two groups as they progress towards the basket.

1 v 2 HC Trapping Drill Diagram 1

The inside lane (lane closest to the basket) is for one defender (Three).

The middle lane is for the offensive player (Two) who starts with the ball.

The outside lane is the second defender (One).

The drill starts with Two (2) dribbling as fast as possible to halfway. Two (2) must place at least one foot on the halfway line before turning and trying to attack the basket for a shot.

When the offensive player has taken two dribbles off the baseline, then the two defenders (One and Three) can enter the drill and start to chase down the ball.

The responsibilities for the defenders are as follows:

Three (3) is responsible for filling the role of the denying the middle of the floor to the offensive player (Two).

One (1) is responsible for denying the sideline to Two (2).

Both defenders are responsible for not allowing the offensive player to split them and dribble between them.

Once one side of the floor has completed a repetition. The other side of the floor starts.

Point of Note

The 1 v 2 HC Trapping Drill not only allows defenders to practice the action of trapping between two defenders. But highlights an often overlooked advantage by players just starting out in the exercise is that the halfway and sidelines are effectively additional defenders. Player’s attention needs to be drawn to the advantage of pinning the offensive players against this area and if possible working the ball handler as far as possible into the corner of the half court so the trap becomes more effective.

Variation

To start with, it is suggested that the offensive player be allowed to attack the basket if they can break the trap. This should be played out as a live 1 v 2 situation with both defenders needing to stop the shot should a breakdown in the trap happen. In these situations within games, if a trap is broken, the end result is often a defensive foul. Do not allow players to just simply foul. Drill what each defender should be doing with regards to the where the ball is and their positioning is initially when the trap is broken.

If the 1 v 2 HC Trapping Drill seems a little slow for your liking, simply take away the goal of the offense scoring and replace it with the offensive player just needing to get two feet inside the three-point line. This will speed up the repetitions and allow for a greater degree of learning to take place in regards to performing the trapping action.

Another option to vary the drill is to change which lines are offense and defence on the baseline. This will provide a different perspective for all players involved.

The 1 v 2 HC Trapping Drill is a good activity for players to define their understanding about how to trap. Because the offensive player starts facing away initially in the drill the defence has a little more time in which to perform the activity and gain the correct positioning. This will make a difference to those players (young and old) who just need to understand or tweak their trapping technique.

The Full Court Press is one of the very special defences a team can utilise to play attacking basketball without being in possession of the ball. The Full Court Press can provide a number of positives for a team such as scoring in runs and decreasing an opponent’s lead quickly. If performed poorly however a Full Court Press can become an Achilles Heel for a team resulting in easy scoring opportunities. One of the more common sighted indications of a struggling or poor Full Court Press is the ability for the offense to break the trap and make lay-ups.

Scoring Happens

An offense scoring against a Full Court Press will happen. This does not mean the Press is not working or ineffective. It just means the defence needs to be evaluated and improved within the context of the games play (Photo Source: dannybollinger).

No defence in the modern game of basketball can be a solution to all the problems a team is likely to face from an ever expanding range of offenses. Look through the countless resources available around developing an offensive system and there is literally millions of articles, books, philosophies and tweaks developed every year. Not only at the elite level but also from the humble coach within the school gym refining their coaching craft.

To meet this offensive onslaught, defences will also need to develop and adapt. A weakness however is all about perspective, and with regards to a Full Court Press this is really about what a coach is willing to give an offense in exchange for taking away other opportunities. For a Full Court Press the balance of risk and reward is focused around defensive pressure extending into the full court. Every inch of the court becomes an opportunity to a deflection, steal and backcourt or shot clock violation. The risk is that an offense may break the Full Court Press and make lay-ups or quick scoring opportunities. How this is evaluated within a game is for the coach to analysis, but just because an offense makes a lay-up does not mean the defence is broken. No defence is successful a hundred percent of the time, in fact, many coaches would be happy with a lot less.

No Uncontested Lay-ups

When looking at the possible outcomes from a broken Full Court Press one of the results can be a lay-up. This however, is very different to an uncontested shot. Just because a lay-up is the final shot does not mean it should be uncontested. Defenders when behind the ball should be drilled to recover in a specific way so to limit the possible chances of an easy scoring opportunity. Scrambling defensive transition is still part of the game, even when employing a Full Court Press.

Part of the implementation of a Full Court Press is for players and coaches to understand how to react to when the Full Court Press in broken. Where should each player move to and what should they be looking for. As this understanding and additional increased commitment to recovering in transition is implemented, over time the number of lay-ups should start to decrease even in broken trap situations. While a shot may not be stopped, the further away from the basket it is taken the less successful it becomes. So turning a lay-up into a mid-range jump shot can have a significant effect on an oppositions completions against the press.

Fast Break

One of the more common phenomenon that happens as a result of a lay-up is both the defence and offense tend to stall. The defence becomes deflated from the points being scored and therefore the trap being broken. While the offense feels, they have survived a very challenging situation and react by taking a breath.

A Lay-up for the defence should signal the opportunity for a Fast Break or explosive Primary Transition against the fully extended offense. Offensive players can be very slow in changing from offense to defence especially when facing a Full Court Press. This should be exploited often so even if the offense expends effort to break the trap, they then have to turn and sprint the stop a basket at the opposite end of the floor. This a key to attacking basketball and the mindset behind an effective press.

Fatigue

One warning sign related to lay-ups against a Full Court Press is fatigue. A defensive team and coach need to be very vigilant concerning the exposure of a team to too high an energy commitment when using a Full Court Press. If lay-ups are the result of the players running on empty there either needs to be a rotation of fresh players or a change in the defensive strategy being employed.

If looking to use a Full Court Press then a team needs to practice under fatigued conditions so the likelihood of poor performance as a result can be gradually reduced. Through training and development of greater stamina a team’s Full Court Press will improve and the ability to convert more points from this tactic will increase.

The Full Court Press has always been a very solid tactic due to the challenge in presents to players with the ball about what they can do and what their teammates must do. Forcing offensive players to make reads and choices leads to problems if the individuals are not well drilled. Lay-ups though should not be the only measure a coach is concerned with. Think about a Full Court Press in the context of the game, is it really being exploited any more regularly than your other defensive options?

If ever Trapped a player must maintain composure and vision to see the options available (Photo Source: USAG- Humphreys)

Being Trapped can be one of the more troubling experiences a ball handler can have in the game of basketball. If trapped effectively the dribbler will only have a few moments from the initial trapping situation starting, to when they are fully contained by the defenders.

There are a some key points every coach should be discussing with their players about dealing with a situation in which they can become trapped.

Pause before Dribbling

Offensive players in their eagerness to move the ball quickly from one end of the floor to the other often catch and go into a run straight away. In looking to avoid being trapped catching on the run and moving straight into a dribbling situation can actually just make the defences job a lot easier.

The outlet should look to catch and pivot towards the frontcourt before moving. This will allow for greater vision and awareness of where the gaps and seams are in the trapping defence so they can then move to exploit these opportunities.

As players become more aware of the space around them this tactic might be less and less valuable, but initially stopping to assess the situation for many ball handlers improves decision making (even if it does slow the play).

A common issue when pausing is that players can tend to turn away from the frontcourt. This will need to be an aspect of pivoting a coach will need to work against. Pivoting away from the frontcourt only serves to limit the options of the ball handler in dribbling and passing.

Utilise the Pass Fake

Most players will have heard the mantra “Fake a Pass, to make a Pass”. Like most things, the simplest actions often provide the best results and it does not matter if you are in the full court or the half court the Pass Fake is effective (before or after the dribble).

There is not secret to using the Pass Fake, but with practice, it will become a great tool when used wisely.

Keep the Dribble Alive

A common reaction to a trapping situation is for the dribbler to pick the ball up in an attempt to quicken the possibility of making a pass. This is really common and something many players struggle with even at the elite or senior levels of the sport of basketball.

To overcome this reaction players just need to be drilled in basic skills such as the reverse dribble which will help the player to maintain distance between themselves and the defenders involved in the trap. This skill will need to be practiced in game like situations to have full effect, so the player does not back themselves into a corner only to become trapped in a smaller area of the court.

By looking to create space between the defenders and the ball, this will force the defenders to move if they wish to create a trap. A moving defender is an easier defender to beat off the dribble as they must always look to establish a legal guarding position prior to initiating any contact.

Look and See what Opportunities the Trap is Presenting

Every coach who has ever run a press will understand that there are areas that they do not want the ball to go. There are two defenders involved in the trapping situation. One player will often try to defend a sideline, while the other will try to defend the middle of the court. Both players are trying to avoid being split.

For the dribbler when looking at the trap there are three options to break this tactic down by themselves:

Dribble middle; if the middle defender move below the line of the ball

Split the defenders (heading in between them); if there is a wide gap between the defenders of more than a defensive slide each to deny this position

Dribble to the sideline; if the defender moves past the line of the outside shoulder or if there is a gap between the sideline defender and the sideline of more than two defensive slides

Develop Competence with a range of Passes

A good trapping defence will look to minimise opportunities for re-occurring breakdowns. Tactics will be changed, player positions or responsibilities altered. This means the ball handler must be display a range of skills in order to be flexible in dealing with a changing trapping defence or just different teams running a similar defence.

One set of skills which can assist in breaking a trapping defence is the use of different passing techniques. Some passes will be more effective in moving the ball in close spaces such as a Push or Bounce Pass. While others will be useful over greater distances such as an Overhead or Baseball Pass. Having competence within these basic skills will assist in executing the right decision when it is taken.

Being trapped is not a comfortable experience for players. It can feel as though they are letting the team down especially if the ball is constantly being turned over. This compounds the problem and players can become timid and start forcing passes that they otherwise would not normally take for fear of being trapped with the ball. Outlining the decisions which need to be made when involved in a trapping situation can sometimes draw attention to opportunities a player might not be aware of. Then practice, practice and practice some more…

When implementing a Full Court Press, after the initial stages of how the trapping action happens attention should then shift to the options for a Secondary Trap. The Secondary Trap is the name given to those options for another trap to form after the first has broken down or been released. A team that discusses the secondary trap and works to perfect this action is a team that is twice as hard to beat. A secondary trap can be executed in the full court, half court or quarter court depending on a team’s defensive strategy.

Thinking about a secondary trap is not necessarily discussing what happens when a press breaks down. Just because the ball is moved out of the initial trapping situation does not mean that the defence has failed. In some instances, the secondary trap might be the intended phase within a trapping defence that a team wants so they can pressure the ball more aggressively when possession is in certain players hands. For example, when facing a team that has a capable Point Guard, but very weak supporting ball handlers. The initial trapping situation might be used to move the ball out of the Point Guards hands and then apply extreme pressure the next receiver.

In the full court, the use of the secondary trap is all about using the court effectively. Making every inch of the floor valuable and a challenge for opposition teams to win. If a defensive team is not going to use a secondary trap, then maybe a half-court trap is a better option as this will not stretch the defence as much and also limit the focus to one trapping phase (which is often the focus of half court traps) can be more effective.

When supplementary trapping situations are focused upon within a team’s full court defence there can be opportunities explored even as the ball is advanced deep down the court to the basket. As mentioned previously there is no reason that up to three trapping areas cannot be explored and drilled by a team. These areas are marked in the Diagram below as Areas 1, 2 and 3.

Trapping Areas Diagram 1: A Secondary Trap can happen in the same area as the initial trap. So teams must drill different rotations to ensure they can deal with all strategies that different offense may present

Alternatively, a different approach can be taken and in different areas of the court, different trapping strategies are applied so an opposition’s offense is unable to become comfortable with the tactics they are facing. For example in Area 1, a team may not want to trap, but simply slow the progress of the ball and stall an effective opposition’s transition offense. In Area 2 a team might decide Hedge and Recover so to the offense the trap looks like it is about to happen and so the ball is continued to be rotated away from the key ball handlers and into the weaker decision makers hands within the group before trapping aggressively in Area 3.

If facing a team with a very effective Press Breaker one option is to reduce the press formation to the ¾ court. Then not trap in Areas 1 or 2. This will space the offense out and condense the defence . Then providing all defenders are active a secondary trap can be triggered in Area 3. If executed well, many off the offensive players can be still in the back court when the trap happens and not able to initially take part as a pressure release target for the ball handler.

All of the examples above make the secondary trap a very useful strategy in not only providing depth to a team’s defence, but also being flexible in tactics to compete an ultimately win a game. A good secondary trap is a trap that exposes a team, a does just not focus on the key ball handler of the opposition. When that happens a defence is starting ask questions of players who do not normally make decision at pace, on the dribble or in traffic and that can only be a good thing for the defence.